Diaz Scores Narrow Win Over Neer

Nathan
Diaz edged out Josh Neer on a
split decision Wednesday in the main event of UFC Fight Night at
the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb.

The back-and-forth bout came down to two 29-28 scores for Diaz and
one for Neer.

Neer, 25, fighting out of the Miletich camp in Bettendorf, Iowa,
had thrown Diaz around early. He slammed the winner of “The
Ultimate Fighter 5” twice in the first round.

Perhaps the best takedown, however, was the throw Diaz used to toss
Neer to his back with a minute to go in the first. Diaz, a
23-year-old from Stockton, Calif., also rallied on his opponent
with short rights and lefts while standing against the cage, which
didn’t seem to hurt Neer but may have impressed the judges.

Neer got another takedown early in the second round, but it only
served to let Diaz, crafty as ever on the ground, to reverse. From
his back, Neer kicked effectively and later stood to slam Diaz
again. He also took the Cesar
Gracie-trained fighter’s back, but Diaz wouldn’t be choked.

Diaz won the takedown battle to start the last round. He couldn’t
hurt Neer from the top, though he did take his back halfway through
the period after defending a single-leg. Neer escaped quickly and
returned to an active game from his back, which included several
submission attempts that weren’t close but did prevent Diaz from
punching.

With seconds remaining, Diaz threw Neer again and finished the
entertaining, hard-to-score lightweight affair from the top.

“Josh
Neer, he ain’t no black belt in jiu-jitsu like the other guys
I’ve been fighting,” said Diaz, now 10-2. “This mother------, this
dude right here can fight.”

Although the defeat was a narrow one, it dropped Neer’s record to
24-7-1.

Also at 155 pounds, Clay Guida
hustled to another workmanlike win by outpointing Mac Danzig
over three rounds for a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28,
29-28).

The fighters exchanged early with Danzig showing the more complete
standup game. Following a punch-kick combination from Danzig,
however, Guida found an opening for the first of numerous
takedowns.

Danzig got up, which only allowed Guida to slam him harder the
second time. Danzig got up again, and again Guida slammed him hard
back to the ground.

The second and third rounds played out similarly. Danzig, 28,
fighting out of Los Angeles, tried to keep the fight standing but
couldn’t. He connected occasionally with his hands and also with
two good leg kicks, though Guida could always wrestle him to the
mat before much damage was done.

Guida, 26, didn’t damage Danzig either. He did push the pace,
however, keeping his head buried in Danzig’s midsection and only
stopping his pursuit of takedowns after he had just finished one.
By the end of the fight, Danzig was gassed and Guida was still all
over him.

“He hit me pretty hard a couple of times, and I knew I could take
him down off the transitions,” said Guida, who improved to 4-3 in
the UFC with his victory over the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter
6.”

Photo by Sherdog.com

"It was a very close fight," stated
Belcher. "I don't disagree with the
judges at all. Could have went
either way."

In a middleweight bout, Alan
Belcher improved to 4-3 in the UFC by winning a split decision
over Ed
Herman (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Belcher, 24, fighting out of Biloxi, Miss., carried his hands at
his waist for much of the fight and threw a variety of strikes at
Herman, who boxed more conventionally and mixed in takedowns. The
first round seemed to belong to Belcher on the strength of his leg
kicks until Herman dumped him to the canvas late with two
takedowns.

In the second period, Herman, 27, landed a good left hook to the
body. Belcher retaliated with two of his own body shots, then went
high with a straight right that sent Herman stumbling back into the
cage. Belcher also connected with a left hook to the jaw and with
leg kicks during the round, but Herman again scored a takedown late
and worked from the top position.

Belcher stopped Herman’s takedowns for much of the final round. He
picked his shots on the feet, throwing one punch at a time rather
than combinations, though his left-hook and straight-right leads
often caught Herman off guard.

Herman, fighting out of Team Quest in Portland, Ore., rallied yet
again. He put Belcher on his back with a double-leg, then punched
from the top and even moved to the mount before time ran out.

“It was a very close fight,” Belcher said. “I don’t disagree with
the judges at all. Could have went either way.”

Alexander defended Schafer’s opening takedown attempt and drove
home a knee to the body. More takedown attempts followed, and the
36-year-old Alexander, who was backed by his vocal hometown crowd
in Omaha, staved off each effort from Schafer until about halfway
through the round.

That’s when Schafer finally grounded Alexander and began to
outclass him. Fighting out of Milwaukee, Schafer, 30, instantly
passed to side control. Alexander rolled out but was caught in a
deep guillotine choke. He escaped the choke but then found himself
mounted.

At that point Schafer teed off with elbows and punches. Alexander,
who had been mounted and finished by Thiago
Silva last November, looked no more skilled from his back than
he had in that first UFC loss. It did look, however, as though he
would survive the round.

Time was ticking down when Schafer wisely slipped to side control
and finished the fight with an arm-triangle choke. The win evened
his UFC record to 2-2 and handed Alexander his third consecutive
loss in the Octagon.

“I actually heard their corner yell, ‘A minute left.’ I was
grounding and pounding him, and he didn’t seem to be hurt at all,”
Schafer said. “So I’m like, ‘I better get moving and go for a
submission while there’s a little bit of time left.’

“That’s my signature move,” Schafer said of the choke. “I squeezed
it with all I had.”